temple ⁽⁸¹⁾

2 Chronicles 8:14–16, Mark 13:32–37 Have you ever been to a fancy hotel or apartment building, and seen (or interacted with) the doorman? In a way, they act as a guard, granted a more passive one, yet their presence often acts as a mental barrier…

Ezekiel 47:1–12, 2 Corinthians 3:17–4:1, Matthew 28:16–20 This image of the River of Life spreading out into the world provides us something to reflect upon. The further the river gets from the presence of God, the wider and deeper it gets. Eventually, it takes the…

2 Kings 23:4–20, Ezekiel 42:13‭-‬14 King Josiah had a mess to clean up. Over the years, his kingly predecessors and the priestly predecessors had put a lot of stuff that didn’t belong in the temple. A lot of it was worship pieces for worshipping gods…

Ezekiel 27:1–36, Ezekiel 28:20–23, Luke 10:13–16 To understand Jesus’ “woe” statements, one needs to understand history. While Tyre and Sidon were now (in Jesus’ time) prosperous cities, their pride, pagan behavior, and anti-Israel behavior had gotten them a lot of punishment. After Ezekiel’s prophesy, the…

2 Samuel 24:1–25 What the reason was for inciting the census has remained a mystery. Why God would incite David to do this, and thus punish the Israelites, is also a mystery. Some have claimed that this was still the penalty of David’s murder of…